Forgotten Gardens
by sneddyteddy
Summary: On a moonless night, a beautiful princess vanished from her bed after a single scream. Where she disappeared to has had everyone puzzled for the past 50 years. But no mystery can escape Kagome, when she moves into the castle with her lonely widowed uncle
1. Vanishing Princess

Waiting.

I was always waiting. I waited for years, and in some ways, I still am. But they never came.

Never.

Had they forgotten about me so quickly? Or maybe, they just didn't need me anymore, didn't want me anymore.

Maybe they wanted to get a new daughter, maybe I was broken.

I couldn't think straight while I was sitting in that black car that smelled of tobacco with all those awful thoughts in my head.

And _he_ wasn't making anything easier. Him. He was who I would be staying with until I was eighteen. At least, that's what _they _told me. For the longest time, I actually believed that they would be back for me. But, that's just how any eight year old girl would think, right?

"We're here," the old man driving the car grunted. The man sitting next to me never even opened his mouth, or even looked at me. He was very tall and scrawny with 5 o'clock shadow covering his long face, and was to be called my uncle.

He didn't even ask how I was doing. After all, I had just lost both of my parents. And to tell you the truth, I don't think he really cared.

But, I didn't cry.

I didn't know how to cry, however weird that may sound.

The car started to rumble as we rode over some stones set into the long driveway leading up to the….house? I stared around at the large house, no, the huge house! It looked like a castle that you only hear about in fairy tales.

The extravagant fountains and gardens. Except, like uncle, it was almost as if it was….dead.

Lifeless.

There seemed to be no color, just gray. Just like that morning sky. The air was damp and cold and as I sat shivering, uncle was unaffected. When the car came to a halt, an old woman ran outside with a large black umbrella.

She leaned down to open the car door for the silent man and held the umbrella over his head as he walked inside the house without even a glance to me. I just sat there looking like a real idiot, not really knowing what to do.

Eventually, the grumpy old man got out and came around to open my door for me. He grunted and pointed at the doors uncle had disappeared into. As I walked away struggling with my heavy bags I heard him whisper something weird, "She looks just like her."

Looks just like who?

This whole place is so strange. Especially the people who lived and worked here. Even though uncle was so lonely, his house was full of activity and people. Like a busy hive of bees scurrying around to keep the house in order.

The old woman from earlier that morning met me in the front room as I walked in and was stampeded with people trying to help or pamper me in any way possible.

"Ye girl," she spat out," Follow me." And without another word she turned sharply and began firmly walking up the large twisted staircase. She led me down long corridors, and tiny side hallways, and down small staircases.

The entire place was like a gigantic maze. I didn't know how I was ever going to be able to make my way around this place. "My name is Kaede, I am head of household and will be watching over ye."

She had a harsh tongue, as if she hated me. I didn't get why she was so bitter, I had just met her.

What's her problem?

"Here are your rooms. I expect ye to still be here when I get back to fetch ye for dinner." She turned and quickly stepped outside the room, waiting for me to step inside. But I wasn't moving. I still had tons of questions.

"When will I see my uncle?" I asked in the most innocent tone I could muster since I wanted to try and get on this woman's good side, if she even had one, otherwise my stay in this stone cage was going to really suck.

"Mr. Higurashi is very busy; ye will most likely not be seeing him unless ye have to." I could tell she was getting bored with me and wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"Fine. When will supper be ready?" I didn't feel the need to fake nice to her anymore. Once her mind was set on hating me, it could only get worse. "Dinner will be served at exactly six o'clock P.M., ye will not be late."

"How would I be late if _ye _and your wrinkled self are taking me?" I asked sarcastically. I thought it was very funny, the way she said _ye,_ instead of you. She finally shoved me through the door along with my stuff and slammed it behind her as she stalked away.

I waited till I couldn't hear her loud footsteps echoing down the hall before I ran over to my big yellow backpack and reached in. "Thank god you're ok, Buyo! The way she just threw you into the room I thought that was the end of it for sure!"

The little fuzzy brown head of the small kitten just stared up at me stupidly before letting out a tired yawn. He closed his eyes about to finish his nap but he didn't realize that he was no longer in the bag so he fell over and hit the floor.

He opened his eyes with a shocked expression as if that was the first time he had woken up. He looked around and ran over to the bed and gave a giant leap.

I don't really know what he was thinking but he just hit halfway up the bed and slid back down to the ground for a second time. However stupid he may be, right now he was my only friend.

I ran over to the little pest and scooped him up to into my arms. "You need to learn to be more careful," I cooed into his soft white fur. I had forgotten where I was for a second and opened my eyes to finally look around at the room.

It was a bit to big for my taste, I could hardly reach the top of the bed it was so tall. There was a second smaller room that connected to it that looked like a sitting room. It had a small round silver coffee table in the middle and about forty small pillows of many colors spread across the entire floor.

There were no windows in this room, which I thought was kind of weird. A room this kawaii shouldn't have a dusty old lamp for its light source, it should have sunlight.

I gasped.

Even though the walls had no windows, they weren't bare. The back wall was covered in a gigantic portrait of….me? How could they have known what I look like if I had never seen any of them before? I'm positive _they_ never sent them any pictures.

As I looked closer at the portrait the little girl looked different. At first glance, I could have sworn she had my face. But, there was something different about her, I just couldn't think of what.

I reached up to touch her face. My fingers ran across the rough canvas and paint. It mad me so mad that I couldn't understand why we were so similar and so different at the same time.

I slammed my fists into the painting. I heard it creak but I just ignored it. I slid down to floor and leaned against the painting. I was breathing really fast in shallow pants.

It wasn't just the painting that had upset me. It was the fact that the little girl was smiling.

My Smile.

The smile I used to give when my parents were with me.

But it had died along with them.

I sighed. There wasn't any reason to be getting upset now. It was all over. There was nothing I could do to make them come back.

"Kya!"

The wall behind me let out another loud squeak before swinging back. I screamed as I fell flat on my back against the dusty floor. I sat up coughing and sneezing from the layers of dust that now covered my back.

"Oww…"

"Hey! What's going on in there?!?" Someone outside was banging on the door. "You're not supposed to be in there! Come out with your hands in the air!"

"Oh crap."

I sprang onto my feet and ran out of the tiny room. "Buyo! Into the room!" I hissed. He just gave me a stupid stare. I ran over and picked him up and shoved him into the small room. I slammed the door shut as the other one opened.

"What are you doing in here?!? This room is reserved for my cousin! Get out right now you filthy maid!"

It was just a boy.

A small boy not much older than me. Maybe by just a few years.

"Excuse me! Didn't your mother ever teach you how to talk to a lady!" I shouted at his face as I stood planted, my face turning red. "And you must be mistaken, this is my room! I'm not a maid! I'm Mr. Higurashi's niece!"

The boy just stared at me through his violet orbs. He was dressed in a purple t-shirt to match with black jeans and had short black hair pulled back into a tiny pony tail.

"If you are his niece, then why are you covered in dirt?" He had a smug look as if he thought that he had already won this fight. Anyone else listening to this argument would have thought they both made stupid points, but they continued to embarrass themselves anyway.

"Well, maybe if you did a better job at keeping this place cleaner, I wouldn't be so dirty, now, would I?" I watched with amusement as his smug look dropped and he was trying to figure out what to say next.

"How can you be the new kid, I thought you were supposed to be a boy!" he shouted as the look was replaced with an adorable little pout.

It was my turn to feel stupid. This day was getting weirder with every second that passed. "Are you saying you're my cousin?" I asked him.

"If your Mr.Higurashi's niece, then yeah. I'm his son, Miroku, although, he doesn't act like I am."

We both just sort of stared at each other for a while. My brown orbs were locked with his violet ones. "No one told me uncle had a son," I said more quietly. "Not many people know," he answered.

"Well, I guess I'll leave you to clean up for dinner," he said more politely, breaking the awkward silence. "Thanks, and sorry I'm not a boy," I giggled. "That's ok, I'm not complaining." He turned and gave me a wink before running out into the hallway.

I blushed as my face felt hot and turned away as if he was still there watching me. He was charming for his age. Most of the boys I'd met thought I had cooties. Maybe it was different since he was a bit older.

I stopped feeling embarrassed enough to remember the most important thing he had said. He was Uncle's son.

My cousin.

My only relative left. I had uncle too, but….

He wasn't all here. Maybe a part of him died with someone he loved too. Maybe he was just always that way, but, I don't think so.

I suddenly remembered what I found in the other tiny room and ran to throw open the door.

"Meooowww….."

"What the…?"

"Oh my god! Buyo! Are you ok?!?!" The stupid little cat had managed to fall asleep, right where the door came colliding with the wall. He was now squished up between the two and about to fall asleep again, but I pulled the door away from the wall since I was inside now and he fell straight back down to the floor.

I ignored his whines and finally turned to look at the wall, now that the little cat was safe, hiding under three gold pillows.

My jaw dropped.

The frame of the portrait went around the whole rim of the wall. The picture itself had opened, as if it was a door. Beyond that stupid smile that didn't belong there was only darkness.

For the second time, I heard banging on the door. "Pardon me, Miss Kagome, are you in there?" It sounded like a maid, the way she talked to me since I was only eight.

"People in this house have a problem with finding the right times to visit," I groaned to myself.

I skidded up to the portrait and slammed it shut so I came face to face with the little girl again. I ran slipping on pillows and scrambled out the door and slammed it shut behind me.

I sprang onto my feet as the door opened to reveal a very pretty woman. She had long raven black hair that she wore into a tight bun behind her head. The thing that made her so beautiful though was her scarlet eyes. They didn't look scary on her.

"You must be little Kagome," she cooed as if I were a baby," My name is Kagura, Kaede sent me to help you get ready for dinner, I'm her personal maid," she explained

"I don't mean to be rude, but does it look like I'm wearing diapers to you?" I asked and just stood there smiling. "You don't have to call me Miss Kagome either, Kagome would be ok."

I expected her to get all mad at me like Kaede would, but she just stared at me then she broke into a smile. It surprised me a little bit but, it was still nice. It was one of the only kind faces I had seen ever since I got here. "You're absolutely right, you're no baby so you shouldn't be treated like one." Her overly cheery smile was now becoming a little annoying.

Hmm…

"My goodness, your filthy, we better get started or you won't be ready in time." Her smile was practically glued to her face and it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. I just shrugged it off and let her pamper me.

---------

"Kya!"

"What's wrong?" the scarlet witch asked. She's no better than Kaede! Kaede is very upfront with her hatred, Kagura is extremely sneaky. "What have you done to my head?!?" I shouted at her.

I had just finally gotten my first glance in the mirror after hours of torture. Scrubbing, pulling, twisting, tightening and for what? To look like little Bo peep.

"You look adorable," she cooed in a bittersweet tone.

"I thought we went through the fact that I'm not a baby!"

This really sucked! The only way to get rid of her now was to pretend I like it and call in a different maid to do some last minute adjusting.

"Your right, its so kawaii! But, I need to fix my bows, you head on down to dinner. Thanks so much for your help!" We both exchanged fake smiles as she skipped out the door, closing it lightly behind her.

I ran over to the wardrobe and threw open the doors. "Aww man!" There was only one other dress that I would be able to wear to such a dinner as this and it was green!

Although it had a very nice style, that didn't get rid of the color. Green had been the color of my uniform for as long as I could remember. Even though it was my best color, I hated it. But, it was a lot better than the crap I was wearing so I quickly switched the two dresses and rapidly tried to yank out my bows.

I ran into the small bathroom and put my head under the water streaming out of the sink so I could get rid of those nasty curls. Once they were all out I quickly parted my raven black hair to put it into two messy braids tied with long green ribbon.

The dress wasn't itchy like the other one and cut off right above my knees. It had no lace on it thank god, Just a long green ribbon that tied around the top of my stomach with two tiny red bows on the end of each sleeve that cut off just after my shoulders.

I slipped into a pair of shiny black shoes just as Miroku stepped inside. "You look nice," he complimented. He was wearing black dress pants and from behind his violet shirt he pulled out a white rose.

I just stared at it in his hand. I had seen that rose somewhere before, I just couldn't remember where. He walked over and placed it behind my ear. I blushed again and turned my face away so he would not see.

If I hadn't been so stupid I might have noticed the big brown dog that had followed him into the room and was now hiding under my bed. "Shall we go down to dinner?" he asked.

I stood there uncertain then nodded and followed him out the door and through the mess of hallways and stairs.

But, I just couldn't help feeling like I had forgotten something.

---------

The walk down to dinner was pleasant enough until Miroku reached out to hold my hand. I screeched and jumped back. "What do you think your doing?!?" I shouted at him.

"Just trying to be friendly," he smiled. Motioning to his hands, I looked down to them and he had put them away into the depths of his pant pockets.

"That was very inappropriate," I scolded in the same tone as my mother had used on me whenever she caught me stealing from the cookie jar or candy bowl.

He just smiled and continued walking, not noticing the blank look in my eyes. I continued after him, listening to the clicking of my shoes against the hard floor as I walked down the hall.

"This place just keeps getting bigger and bigger," I said as I stared at the beautiful and disturbing pictures and portraits hanging on the walls.

As we kept walking we passed a portrait of a beautiful young woman wearing a diamond tiara over her chestnut brown hair, with a blue gown to match her Sapphire orbs.

"When I was younger, one of the men who had worked in this place his whole life said that it used to belong to that princess," he said while indicating to the portrait I was staring at.

"It is legend that one moonless night, on the girl's eighteenth birthday, she disappeared from her bed without a trace," he went on, with playfulness behind his dark and mysterious look.

"What happened to her?" I asked with my mouth agape and wide eyes. I had been oblivious to the playfulness and only saw the seriousness of what he was telling me.

"There are many theories, but none have been proven to be true," he told me. "The romantics say that her true love came to save her from her wretched father."

I smiled at this. How wonderful for someone to care for you so much.

"But everyone knows what really happened to her," he chuckled, "But I shouldn't tell you, you'd have nightmares for weeks."

My eyes grew even wider and I ran over in front of him and stopped him dead in his tracks. "You tell me right now Miroku Higurashi or it will be a very cold night for you!"

"Alright, alright," he sighed," She was murdered."

"What!"

"Yep, rumors spread through the castle that she had been taken in the night right from her very own bed. Rumors also were that it had to be someone who knew the castle better than most," he finished.

"Why?" I asked with curiosity practically exploding inside of me.

"Well, I guess it was cause the people in the castle heard her scream and when the guards standing right outside her door bolted into her room there was no one there."

"So?" I pressed.

"Well, the only way they could have gotten in the room without being seen and escaped with her in time was if they knew a secret passage way into the room."

My blood ran cold.

"A secret passage way?"

"Sure, don't all the great castles have em'?" he asked, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

I flashed back to the darkness behind the portrait of the little girl, suddenly I was frightened of what lay in waiting.

"I refuse to believe that she was murdered!" I stated after a moment of pause, coming to my conclusion.

"Then your stupid, why would she scream?" he asked her with the playfulness bouncing behind his dark expression again, and once again going unnoticed by me.

"I'll figure that out later," I answered with a confident smile.

He just sighed and continued their course down to the dining room.

"Miroku?" I questioned seriously again," You know that portrait in the smaller room of my bedroom, the one of the little girl who looks sort of like me?"

His body went visibly rigid and his tone icy," Yes, what about her?"

This shocked me a little bit and I knew that this was making him uncomfortable but I had to know.

"Who is she?"

"If I were you, I'd never bring that up again," he spat at her.

"Is that a threat?" I asked, a little confused but growing angry.

"Consider it a piece of advice," he answered before quickening his pace through a sharp turn down a small staircase.

We had finally reached the large dining room.

"How bleak," I said to no one in particular.

"Excuse me Miss. Kagome, I designed this room myself," a cold voice behind me managed out.

Kaede.

The room was rectangular with only a table in the center about 20 feet long with many chairs down the sides then with only one chair per each end.

It had an incredibly high arced ceiling with five windows along the wall that reached the very tip of the ceiling. All of the blinds were closed, leaving scarcely any light in the room, bedsides for a few candles along the table.

I expected about 50 people to be joining us for the dinner however only Kaede, Miroku, and I sat at the long table, with Kaede at the head of the table, and Miroku at the other with me sitting uncomfortably beside him.

He seemed to sense this and patted my knee under the table, his sour mood from just before vanishing. I gave him a smile before leaning over and whispering," Where's Uncle?"

Miroku gave me one of those _have-you-gone-mad _sort of looks before realizing I was serious. "He spends most of his time in his room, that includes his meals, you were lucky he came to pick you up from the airport."

This didn't completely shock me and I wasn't entirely disappointed either. "No wonder he was so pale." I whispered to myself.

Then through doors hidden behind ugly maroon curtains came in about twenty cooks all carrying some sort of dish. They all set it down on the table before quickly vanishing just as fast as they'd came.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked. The table was set for about 45 more people, as was the food.

Miroku just laughed and winked at me before saying," Go on, dig in!"

_---Meanwhile in Kagome's Bedroom---_

Big brown eyes stared through the door of the tiny room. Three gold pillows began to twist and turn, beneath them, something purred. His moment to attack was drawing closer.

A fuzzy little brown head popped out from the sea of colors and yawned greatly. It blinked and stared around stupidly as if not remembering where he was.

The time was now and the dog leapt from his hiding place under the over sized bed and aimed for the kitten hidden amongst the fabric. Buyo froze with terror but dodged out of the way and raced for the opened door to the hallways. The dog ran after it with its tongue lolling out closing in behind.

Out of panic, Buyo took sharp turns and detours before the smell of fish and steak drifted into his nostrils. The delicious smell caused him run even faster as he raced for his dinner.

Once the fluffy dog realized what the stupid cat was after he took a detour so that he would enter through the other side of the dining room for a surprise attack.

Buyo bolted through the tall doors and gave a great leap over Miroku's head onto the table. Miroku gave a rather girlish scream and toppled over his chair landing with a heavy '_thud' _on the ground.

Coming from the other side of the table, Miroku's great dog jumped over Kaede's head, her not being so lucky. The dog's hind legs kicked her face into the rice pudding she had been eating.

Kagome ended up on the floor too, but because she felt as if her gut was going to burst she was laughing so hard. Miroku joined in when he saw Kaede's position.

Buyo was sliding down one side of the table knocking dishes over as he slid, with the dog sliding down the other side, knocking even more dishes over. They collided in the middle causing food to splatter everywhere.

Kagome and Miroku's laughter grew even louder and Kagome's sides felt like they were going to pop. Kaede lifted her head out of the bowl.

They stopped laughing within half a second.

She had the most wicked glare that sent shivers down Kagome's spine and made the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. It was a death glare that said one word.

_Run._

The giant dog just leaned over and ate a meatball off poor Buyo's head who was currently stuck in the bowl of clam chowder, not to say he wasn't enjoying himself.

"Hungry?" Kagome asked with a gulp.


	2. Dirty Water

A.N.) I just wanted to thank all of you that reviewed on the first chapter! When you get that kind of input, a writer is really encouraged to write more. So thanx everybody and enjoy! : )

**Forgotten Gardens**

**Chapter 2**

_Dirty Water_

"Disgusting!" I cried out as I scooped through what look to be a cross between rice, spaghetti, and green mashed potatoes with my bare hands. "I think I'm gonna puke."

"Don't you dare!" Miroku shouted as he wrinkled his nose at what appeared to be a bowl of macaroni and vanilla ice cream with mysterious little brown hairs. "Kaede will just make me clean it up," he sighed but couldn't help but laugh as he remembered Kaede covered in rice pudding.

I just sat down into something unknown and covered my mouth as it squished and let out a repulsive smell.

"Ugh!"

I glared thinking back to the night before.

"_**Ye will clean this entire room with only your bare hands!"**_

I sighed as I looked down into a big pot filled with cat hair and clam chowder.

"_**As for your stupid beasts. They'll be in the pound faster than ye can imagine!"**_

I let out a shaky breath.

"You know," Miroku said as he sat down beside me," She wasn't always that way."

"You mean Kaede?" I looked at him in question, you don't just learn to be evil overnight.

He looked down to his hands that rested in his lap. "A long time ago, she lost someone who she loved very much."

"We all did."

I just stared at him in sympathy. Sorrow was something that I hadn't really seen grace his features.

"It tore everyone apart. No one was ever the same after that," he never once looked up at me, just stared down at his hands, as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, it was killing me to not ask what happened or who he was talking about, but I could tell it was killing him a lot more than me, so I kept my mouth shut.

Besides, I had a pretty good idea.

For the first time, his violet orbs had lost their shine, their charm. He truly looked broken from the inside out.

"Looks like we have a lot more in common than I thought," I said with a sad smile, not really sure if I was trying to comfort him or myself.

He looked at me as if he understood what I was talking about. "I never pushed anyone into telling me why you were here," he said, with an almost pleading stare.

"My parents weren't exactly the best in the world. They liked to forget about me a lot and go to the bar and to parties coming home drunk. One night they were driving home from their usual evening at the bar and got into an accident."

I knew that I didn't have to tell him that, but it was nice to have someone to talk to. I felt great, just by telling him that little piece of my memories.

He doesn't need to know the details.

Miroku wasn't facing me but sitting their looking rather awkward so I just giggled and punched his arm playfully. I expected him to laugh and try to tickle me back but he just sat there.

"Miroku?" I tapped his shoulder," Are you ok?"

He slowly turned to face me with a devilish smirk on his face. "You shouldn't have punched me."

"What are you going to do about it?" I laughed but immediately stopped as my eyes widened. "Miroku! Please don't! I was only messing around!" I pleaded, still playfully but now nervous.

"To late," he said as he flung the handful of noodles and orange slices into my face.

I sat open mouthed and wiped the gross gunk off my face.

"Ok, now its war!"

----------

I sat laughing on the floor of my bedroom leaning against the door, remembering Kaede's face as she entered the room. We had managed to make the mess worse than better. My laughter stopped as I remembered what Miroku had said.

"_**You know, she wasn't always that way."**_

Once Kaede had walked in and found us she decided it was best to just put us under house arrest in our own rooms, away from each other. Which I wasn't too bummed about since I really needed a bath. We had ended up getting in a food fight and I felt exhausted and grimy.

So I walked into the bathroom I had discovered the night before when I went to brush my teeth, and peeled off the filthy orange t-shirt and blue jeans, now half brown and red from only god knows what.

As I ran the water I started to think about the painting, the girl was unusual, like me, but still different. I slipped into the tub and as I lay down, I began to shiver, even though the water was hot.

Was the little girl in the picture who Kaede and everyone else lost? My heart felt cold like my body as I thought about that. She would never smile again. "So much has happened in just two days," I sighed.

They've gone through so much pain, and they all just hide it, even though they can't completely.

It's in their eyes too.

No one can keep it hidden from their eyes.

At first, I had mistook Kaede's rudeness for hatred, but it was really pain, her way of coping with it was to grow cold, bitter, and distant.

I shivered once again. "Why is it so cold in here?" I asked the empty room.

I glanced down to my wrist as I noticed my bracelet dangling down and dripping from the water. I mentally punished myself for being so stupid. The bracelet was the last thing I had that my mother had given me.

Well, there was one other thing, I thought coldly as I looked to the large scar on my right shoulder. I placed the bracelet on the little shelf hanging over the tub, where a bar of soap should have been.

I scrubbed the food from my hair and skin until I was a light shade of pink. "Ah, that feels so much better," I whispered happily, but still very anxious to get out of the now very dirty water.

I stood up and wrapped a warm fuzzy pink towel around myself sighing with satisfaction. I whipped around as I heard something creak open, like a door. But as I listened there was only silence, so I just shrugged, "Must be the wind."

I turned to unlock and open the door, almost slipping on the wet tile floor, when I felt like I had forgotten something. I turned around and stared at the now dirty bathroom, and then I spotted it.

"Ugh, my bracelet, I keep forgetting," I sighed as I walked back into the room and leaned over the tub, reaching for the silver chain.

Then the lights went out and I was in a room full of pitch black darkness. I froze in my position over the tub. My heart started pounding loudly in my chest and I was positive that the whole household could hear it.

There's no need to be scared I told myself, the lights just need to be replaced. Then I heard a shoe squeak as it crossed the wet floor. The pounding in my chest stopped completely and my eyes grew wide with terror.

I slowly began to twist my head around when I felt a hand push me back down, making me slip and fall on the slippery floor, while the other hand held my head under the dirty water. I began to kick and try to hit the person holding me, but they were to strong and the position I was in wasn't helping me any.

All my senses seemed to go numb as I slowly stopped struggling against my attacker. My arms and legs fell limp and I lay unmoving. Suddenly, the hand pulled back. I sprang out of the water and fell to the wet floor gasping for air.

I tried to look at the escaping attacker, but the lights were still off and my vision was blurred.

That's how Miroku found me, laying on the floor, half naked, clutching my burning throat, and peering around blindly. The lights flashed on and I looked toward the figure walking to me with blurred vision.

"Kagome!" I could hear him calling me, but he sounded so far away.

My chest was rising and falling quickly and my body began to feel warmth again. When my vision returned I weakly stared up at him then looked down to his hands, he was holding a fat brown and white kitten in his arms, which was meowing in distress.

"Miroku!" I cried out as I fell down into his arms, my face pressed against his chest as I listened to the steady drumming of his heart beat that was getting faster in panic.

"Kagome, what happened? You're purple," he whispered out of his own fear. I was so cold and shaking so hard that I wasn't sure if I'd ever stop. "I don't know," I answered, even though it hurt to talk.

"I was taking a bath when the lights went out and someone pushed me into the water and held me under and-"

"Calm down," He whispered while putting a finger to my lips. He seemed to be calming down and that seemed to make me do the same. "You can tell me about it later," he went on.

I looked over to the cat in my lap and started to giggle. He always did have a way with making me happy. "What's so funny?" he asked. I just smiled, still feeling a bit jumpy but slowly shaking it off.

"I just need to get out side and do something," I said, to get my mind off of it."

"I know the perfect thing," he said with a smile spreading across his face.

I stared at him questioningly but smiled anyway, "What?"

"Just get dressed and meet me downstairs in the lounge," he said while helping me to my feet.

"Um, Miroku?" I asked

"What?"

"Could you wait by the door for me?" I asked staring at my feet, a little embarrassed.

"Still a little shook up by this whole thing, huh?" he asked with a reassuring smile.

"Not exactly," I lied while still looking at my feet. I was still shaken up quite a bit but that wasn't why I wanted him to wait for me. He looked at me confused," Then what are you afraid of?" he asked.

"Afraid of getting lost on the way to the lounge," I exclaimed. He just laughed at me and turned to sit down outside the door.

--------

"Come on, Miroku!" I pleaded as we walked side by side down a rather long skinny staircase," Tell me what we're doing."

"I told you, it's a surprise" He said with a little annoyance in his voice. He had changed into blue jeans and a black t-shirt with a purple windbreaker. I had quickly put on a pair of dark blue jeans and a red hoody and pulled my hair into a ponytail.

I groaned, surprises drove me crazy, I absolutely hated them. He looked at me and smiled," Calm down, we're almost there." I gave him a blank look but continued after him down the stairs.

"Ugh, what's that smell," I asked while I wrinkled my nose," Are you sure we're not going to the dining room?"

"Ha ha ha, very funny. That is the smell of- "He pushed open the door at the bottom of the spiral staircase to reveal a stable, completed with about 50 horses,"-horses"

My mouth hung open as the excitement roared through my veins. "Their amazing," I whispered. "Take your pick," he said with a smile. I gave him a puzzled look. "You mean, pick a horse?"

"Duh," he said, "You can pick any one of them except for this one right here," he said while pointing to a chestnut brown horse with white spots and a star on it's forehead. "What's his name?" I asked.

"_Her_ name is Kyohaku," he smirked. "Well I apologize to Kyohaku," I smiled back up to the beautiful mare and I could have sworn she gave me a small wink. .

"So, which one do you want?" he asked again. "Umm…" I scanned the rows and groups of horses, they were all so beautiful. How am I supposed to just pick? There were white ones, black ones, brown ones, grey ones, some with spots, some with stripes, some with a braided mane, some curled.

But as I looked further down the rows, there was a circle of gorgeous stallions, then a smaller black stallion running around the rest trying to squeeze itself into the circle but it kept being pushed away by the bigger horses.

Finally it gave up and ran to the next circle or mares trying to squeeze into their little gathering, but even they would not let him enter. So he just walked away into a corner and stood, as if waiting for something. My heart softened for this horse.

"That one," I said while pointing to the black stallion," He's perfect."

"You can't have that one," Someone declared behind me in a cold tone. "Excuse me?" I asked, with a bit of an angry voice. I was going to get that horse no matter what anyone said. We were connected.

"I said, you can't have that one." It was just the stable boy. He had dark brown hair, longer than most boys had that was put into a high ponytail. He was actually pretty cute. His bright blue orbs were beautiful but showed no emotion but pride. "And, why would that be?" I asked him with a more gentle tone but still forceful.

"Because, he doesn't belong to you, he belongs to Kikyou," he spat out.

Kikyou? Who's Kikyou?

"Shut up, Koga," Miroku said with a cold tone. Koga glared at him but knew messing with this stuck up little rich boy would get him fired so he just grunted and walked away.

I stared at Miroku, both puzzled and upset," What was that all about?"

"Just forget it," he said, trying to become more cheerful but failing. "His name is Kyokugaisha," He told me.

"I thought his name was Koga," I said teasingly with fake stupid ness. He just rolled his orbs, but smiled all the same. He mounted Kyohaku then looked back down to me," Once your ready, meet me up by that apple tree," he turned and pointed to the top of a very high hill with only an apple tree covering its surface at the very top.

"You're leaving me here?" I asked, slightly scared although I would never admit that. "You'll be fine," he gave a reassuring glance before kicking the large mare's sides and racing off through the trail in the gardens.

I sighed as I turned to face the corner Kyokugaisha was in. As I approached him he snorted and looked at me before turning back to face the wall. "I'm the only person that has seemed to give you any attention for quite a while and you turn your back on me. You must be holding a big grudge against this Kikyou," I told him. When he heard the name Kikyou his ear had twitched slightly but he didn't turn.

"We're a lot alike, you and me," I told him. He snorted at me and I took it as a sign to continue," We're both outsiders, no real friends. We're completely alone in the world, maybe, we should stick together?" I more asked him than told him. It felt like he was the first person to really listen to me ever since I'd gotten here. For that, he deserved a choice, not an order.

He turned to face me and just stared down at me. I gulped at his hard stare, but then, he slowly lowered his head down in acceptance. I let out a relieved sigh and patted his forehead that had a white shape on it that looked almost like a snowflake.

I froze.

There was a hand on my shoulder. I didn't want to turn around. I knew it was the person from earlier today, coming back to finish me off. I gulped and began to slowly turn.

"Koga!"

He was giving me a glare that surpassed the one he had given Miroku just a few minutes ago. "I can't believe it was you!" I shouted accusingly at him. My senses were tingling again. He would not win a second time.

He gave me a confused stare, but then his face softened," I just came to apologize, for how I acted earlier."

I stood with a dumbfounded look on my face and only stupidly managed out," Oh."

He leaned forward and gave me a kiss on the cheek before turning to walk away. My face grew a bright cherry red as I listened to the crunching of his feet in the hay as he went for the door. "I'm such an idiot!" I cried.

Kyokugaisha nudged my shoulder and I turned to face him," Thanks," I smiled as I finally mounted him. "You know, I shouldn't punish myself for that guy, I mean, one moment he hates me, then the next, he likes me enough to kiss me. I'll never understand boys."

Kyokugaisha snorted at this before bolting out of the stable for some much needed exercise. "I should tell you," I said with pauses in my voice from the way he was trotting," I am sort of afraid of heights!"

He just gave out a weird noise that sounded like a laugh and raced even faster to the old tree. I peered around as he leaned down to eat an apple that had fallen. I expected a castle like this to have beautiful scenery, but it was all dead. I sighed and looked over to the gardens. Where had Miroku gotten to?

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Miroku asked, coming up behind me on Kyohaku.

"Stunning," I said with fake pleasure. "You know, you shouldn't lie," Miroku said playfully. "Excuse me?" I wondered," I was not lying."

"It shows in your eyes, every emotion you've had since you came here has been revealed," He smiled.

"As has yours," I whispered to myself.

"You're hot," he exclaimed.

"What?!?" I shouted at him. That had caught me off guard. How dare he say that!

"Your face is bright red, did anything happen between you and that horse of yours back there?" he asked lightheartedly.

"Oh," was my clever remark for the second time," No, I guess I am just a little hot."

"Hey, where did you go?" I asked, trying desperately to change the subject. "No where," he assured me.

"Whatever."

"I remember, when I was little, my mother would take me out into the gardens, and sing to me," He told me quietly. I looked at him, astonished and confused at the same time. I never really thought about his mother, never knew anything about her. My mother never talked about her elder sister.

Funny, she never really talked to me at all.

I sat quietly, waiting for him to continue, but he just gazed out at the gray view beyond the hill. I started to feel really awkward, just sitting there, not knowing what to say or do to make his pain go away. But I knew I couldn't do that. No one but his father could do that, or at least make it better.

But his father was so consumed in self pity that he was in no condition to help his tormented son. So, I was going to have a lot of work to do. I got Kyokugaisha to trot up next to Kyohaku," Do you think Kyohaku is faster than Kyokugaisha?" I questioned him.

He turned to give me a puzzled look before saying," I suppose, but why?"

"Oh, I just wanted to know if I could beat you at a race through the gardens," I asked with a good-humored smirk.

"Dream on," He told me sternly, but still had lightheartedness dancing in the back of his orbs. I smiled and kicked the sides of Kyokugaisha, causing him to sprint down the hill toward the trail through the dead gardens.

I laughed as I felt myself flying through the gray and brown flowers, knowing how far ahead I was. I stopped laughing when I felt the breath of Kyohaku on my neck. "Nice try," Miroku snorted with a determined gleam in his orbs.

As we raced through the maze of brown leaves and dead flowers, we finally reached what seemed to be a resting area, due to the stone benches and a large stone fountain in the center.

The statue on the fountain was of a little boy standing up, holding a flower pot. Below him sat a young girl holding flowers. As I got closer to it I saw that the little boy was Miroku, and the little girl was…

…the one from the portrait in my bedroom.

I stared quietly at the fountain. Pieces of it were broken off and there was no water in it but a brown muddy substance, probably from the rain and dirt.

Miroku stared at the fountain too, but he was somewhere else. Deep in the girl's orbs, lost in a memory.

It was then I realized the difference between the girl and me. Although her face was stone her eyes remained the same as the picture. Frozen in time, and cold.

Stone cold.

Kyokugaisha began to whimper, he too was staring into the young girl's eyes. "This must be Kikyou," I whispered to myself. Things were beginning to come together and it partly shocked me. But I didn't know why, it shouldn't have. I'd been expecting it all along, but…

Now that I knew the truth, it hurt me.

"Miroku," I said, probably a little louder then necessary. It seemed to snap him awake and pull him back to the present because his violet orbs became clearer. He looked over to me, not saying a word.

"Its getting dark, we better head back," I told him in a tone that said don't argue with me. He didn't say anything but turned his horse around and began to trot back through the overgrown hedges.

Not wanting to be left lost in the overgrown maze of dead plants in the dark, and cold, and in the rain, I quickly went after him and followed him back to the stables. He got down off of Kyohaku and stalked into the castle, not even giving me a glance.

"He sure is a drama king," I grunted as I turned to Kyokugaisha and handed him a carrot. He nibbled on it before spitting it back out to the ground. I frowned at him with a questioning stare.

"He only likes the sweet stuff," a voice explained behind me. "Is that so, Koga," I asked as I turned to face him, but jumped back when I realized how close he was. He smiled and pulled out two sugar cubes from his pocket and holding out his hand for the horse to lick then up.

I stared at him for a second before remembering what had happened that afternoon. "Well, I'm going to bed," I told him while quickly walking away. He sort of scared me. Or at least made me feel awkward.

I ran up the long twisted staircase in the dark and slowly walked down the gloomy hallways that were only lit with shallow lamps hanging on the walls. Great! How am I supposed to find my way back to the room?

I walked aimlessly through the murky maze when I heard a woman's voice behind me," Kagome, what are you still doing out and about?"

It was Kagura, but she sounded different, angrier. She had lost her bounce and perkiness. I gulped as I turned to face her. The lighting on her face made her look eerie. "Lost," was all I could manage out.

"Hmm, I'll take you back to your room," she forced out a smile, but it just made her look even creepier. "Ok, but would you mind walking in front of me?" I asked with a pathetic look on my face. She just shrugged and began moving quickly through the mess of corridors and staircases.

I followed her but was still very alert. Something wasn't right here. But we reached my bedroom without anything happening so I let out a breath I had been holding in and opened the door. Kagura began to open her mouth to say something but I just shut the door in her face before she even made a sound.

I looked around the dark room then walked over to the other smaller room and stepped inside. I began to shake as I looked at the portrait. It was wide open.

At first I tried to tell myself that I had just left it open or that it had just gave in, until I noticed the wet foot prints leading into the darkness. I froze in terror as I realized how my attacker had gotten in undetected and left the same way.

"The squeak!" I shouted, it had been the door opening. But they didn't have time to close the door behind them? Or maybe…

…it was a trap.

They wanted me to follow them into the shadows. I began to slightly shake as I continued to process this, they could be in the room right now.

Just watching me.

A.N.) Well that was an interesting chapter. I'm going to translate a few words for you:

Orbs: eyes (my friend didn't know what that meant)

Kawaii: cute; adorable

Kyohaku (Miroku's horse): star

Kyokugaisha (Kagome's horse): outsider

Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the story so far! Please Review!


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